Thursday, February 23, 2012

“Contractuals who comprise the majority of the country’s workers
receive lower wages, do not receive benefits, have no job security, and
are denied their trade union rights.” – KMU
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Last Thursday February 16, the hundred-plus janitors of the
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) were gripped with terror
when they reported for work and found almost 200 new workers ready to
take over their jobs. The new janitorial agency contracted by the
university had brought in new people.

“We wasted no time,” said Rey Cagomo, president of the janitors’
organization, the Samahan ng Janitors sa Polytechnic University of the
Philippines (SJPUP). They assembled themselves, brought in a sound
system, laid down placards on the ground and started a program. “We
showed the PUP administration that we are united and determined to fight
for our jobs and our lives,” Cagomo said.

What was supposed to be an ordinary working day for the janitors
turned into a picket-protest in front of the PUP main building, as they
demanded to be retained in their job and be absorbed as regular workers
of the university.

Their mass action prompted the PUP administration to hold a dialogue
with the union, together with representatives of students and teachers.
They later crafted an agreement, which stipulated that the workers will
be absorbed by the new agency for a one-year contract.

Workers under the banner of Kilusang Mayo Uno call for a stop to contractualization in a rally Feb. 20.(Photo by Marya Salamat/ bulatlat.com)

The workers viewed the temporary victory as just “another step
forward” in their struggle to become regular employees of the
university. “We will be absorbed, which is good, but still as
contractuals,” said Cagomo.

Apparently, such struggle happens on a yearly basis for these
janitors who have been working in PUP for many years now. “Every year,
we face the prospect that we will not be absorbed by the new agency to
which the PUP administration will grant a new contract,” Cagomo said.

Scourge of Filipino workers

More than 60-percent of Filipino workers today suffer the same job
insecurity. In fact, they have coined a name for it — “endo,” short for
end of contract. Most workers suffer this every three to five months..... MORE

02/23/2012
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and
the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and even the Malacaang tenant
can deny their hand in having had a copy of the bank records of Chief
Justice Renato Corona and could have been leaked out to Malacaang and
passed on to the prosecutors until they are blue in the face, but what
cannot be denied by them is the fact that they had examined the
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) records of Corona and even other
politically exposed persons (PEP) without any court order.

There
are more undeniable facts, such as the BSP auditors being accompanied by
their anti-fraud expert, Jerry Leal, who was investigating the
P1-milllion raffle prize said to have been won by the CJ, as informed by
a BSP official, which means that they had targeted the CJ and his bank
records. The BSP had found that the bank records of the CJ had no
marking of PEP, which tends to prove that the BSP and its anti-fraud
specialist did get hold of the records..... MORE

02/23/2012
House prosecutors saw their impeachment
case against the Chief Justice crumble, right before their eyes, as not
only were the alleged “perks” of CJ Renato Corona from Philippine
Airlines (PAL), such as his and his spouse’s platinum cards along with
the inconsequential number of trips they had taken, but also that the
illegally obtained bank records of the CJ, as well as the testimonies of
the Philippine Savings Bank officials — being the fruit of a poisonous
tree — will very probably be barred by the impeachment court as evidence
for Article 2.3 on his statement of assets and liabilities networth
(SALn).

The problem has always lain with the hastily done
impeachment articles against the CJ, owing to the fact that not only was
this document railroaded — on orders of the master at Malacañang — but
also that the House members did not have any evidence backing up their
Articles of Impeachment..... MORE

The EU has suspended the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement (ACTA) and referred the text to the European Court of
Justice to investigate possible rights breaches.

The European Commission decided on Wednesday to ask the EU's top court "to
clarify that the ACTA agreement and its implementation must be fully
compatible with freedom of expression and freedom of the internet."

The ACTA debate "must be based upon facts and not upon the misinformation or rumor that has dominated social media sites and blogs," says EU Trade Com.... MORESource: RT.com

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now defunct file-sharing site
Megaupload, has been released on bail following more than a month behind
bars in New Zealand. Now he’s preparing to fight extradition to
America.

Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz in Germany, was apprehended by authorities
on January 20 over allegations that the website he founded in 2005,
Megaupload, was the centerpiece of a vast online conspiracy. Authorities
attested that through the operation of the site, Dotcom and his
associates immensely profited by selling subscriptions and
advertisements for a file-storage service that is alleged to have hosted
and distributed pirated material..... MORE

The White House and US State Department are considering arming
Syria's rebels, claiming ongoing reports of government crackdowns would
legitimize their actions. But it remains unclear what form the
assistance would take.

Both US bodies made statements yesterday saying that new tactics
would have to be adopted in order to curtail Regime forces’ bombardment
of the city of Homs.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the US did not want to “take actions that would lead to the further militarization of Syria,” while at the same time signaling that “additional measures” would have to be adopted if the international community fails to reach an agreement on a resolution..... MORESource: RT.com

02/23/2012
Taken either in the good or pejorative
sense, someone said to be “on top of the situation” implies and says one
and the same thing. It means that the person concerned has controlling
coverage over an issue under consideration, has commanding dominance on a
case under deliberation. In other words, anything and everything remain
under the order and in the reign of the same individual such that his
personal will is followed, his personal desire are realized with
assurance and certainty.

This brings to mind the now grand and
spectacular ongoing impeachment trial of the Chief Justice (CJ) at no
less than the definite and categorical instance of the Chief Executive
himself — with the avowed partisan loyalty of majority of the House of
Representatives plus the perceived political fidelity of some members of
the Senate acting as an impeachment court..... MORESource: The Daily Tribune

02/23/2012
More than 200 farmers in Hacienda
Luisita held an indignation rally at the Supreme Court yesterday, urging
the magistrates to stand by their ruling placing the sugar plantation
owned by the family of President Aquino under the government’s agrarian
reform program.

“Aquino will move heaven and earth to remain
steadfast on his campaign to preserve his vested interest in Hacienda
Luisita. His deep resentment not only with the court (SC) but also to
farmworkers (is) written all over his putrid yellow rhetoric of
accountability, transparency and respect of the law while at the same
time hitting and neglecting the democratic rights of the people
including the Hacienda Luisita farm workers to live with dignity,”
farmers’ groups Unyon ng Mangagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and Alyansa ng
mga Mangagawang Bukid sa

Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) said in a joint statement.

The
SC had earlier ordered the distribution of the vast sugar plantation to
its 6,296 farmer-beneficiaries in compliance with the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law (CARL)..... MORE

Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials are now in hotter water as a result of the
unathorized “probe” or joint audit with the Anti-Money Laundering
Council (AMLC) on the examination of the chief magistrate’s bank records
and other personalities, uncovered during the ongoing impeachment
trial.

They face an inquiry before the Senate, whose hearings are
known to have different rules by way of senators’ questioning guests and
resource persons, as Senate hearings are not a courtroom and rules of
court do not apply.

In yesterday’s plenary session, senators
agreed to take up in another proceeding, separate from the impeachment
trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, the alleged
violation of the bank secrecy law and a “witch hunt.”.... MORE

02/23/2012
Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada was
accused Tuesday in a US lawsuit of paying off Philippine regulators and
cheating his powerful Las Vegas partner.

The two regulators named
are former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman
Efraim Genuino and incumbent chairman Cristino “Bong” Naguiat and their
family members as the recipients of the payoffs which dated from 2008
until 2011.

Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts said Okada spent more than $110,000 to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, jeopardizing Wynn’s own reputation in the process..... MORE

02/23/2012
The House of Representatives’ minority
bloc has junked the impeachment complaint of a certain Danilo Lihaylihay
against President Aquino.

House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep.
Danilo Suarez, in a press briefing yesterday, said that based on their
review and deliberation, the evidence in the Lihaylihay complaint
against the President is weak.

“We in the Minority have decided
not to endorse the impeachment complaint filed against the President by
taxpayer lawyer Danilo Lihaylihay. In the first place, we have not yet
seen evidence of an impeachable offense in this complaint, although we
are still conducting our own investigation,” he said.

Suarez said, the minority realized that they should be able to practice what they preached..... MORE

After
15 years, the Philippines yesterday announced that it is lifting its ban
on “au pairs” for all European countries as it was able to craft
improved safety nets and protection policies for Filipinos who will be
hired for the job.

An au pair, a French term meaning “on par” or
“equal to,” is a temporary domestic assistant working for and living as
part of a host family. Au pairs, who are between 18 to 30 years old,
unmarried and without children, normally perform house work and child
care and receive monetary allowance from their host families. They are
placed under a cultural exchange arrangement with a European host family
for a maximum stay of two years, unless otherwise allowed by host
countries..... MORE

02/23/2012
The National Capital Region Police
Office (NCRPO) yesterday disclosed that the Metro Manila police was
placed on heightened alert in connection with the 26th anniversary of
Edsa People Power Revolution that will be celebrated on Saturday.

NCRPO
Director Alan Purisima said security measures have been in place as
thousands of uniformed and non-uniformed policemen are set to be
deployed in Edsa where related activities will be held.

Purisima said the alert level in Metro Manila has not been lowered since December.

The
NCRPO chief expressed optimism that no untoward incidents will take
place during the Edsa Revolt anniversary activities on Saturday (Feb.
25)..... MORE

Photos
of a woman wearing sexy clothing deemed offensive under Islam that was
uploaded on social networking site Facebook by a Filipino group in Saudi
Arabia drew angry reactions from locals, the Philippine Embassy in
Riyadh said.

The photos, according to the embassy, showed a Saudi-based female “model” wearing a transparent night outfit.

Saudi nationals called the embassy’s attention through e-mail which contained comments from offended locals..... MORE